Fabric Covered Buttons

As you can see, I've got a lot of buttons in my stash. Unfortunately, sometimes none of them will work for a particular crafty project I may be working on. Last September, I decided to finally replace a missing button on a jacket. I headed down to a button store in the garment district and ended up buying a button for $3. Yes, $3 for one button. I found the price to be ridiculous, but I had no choice. A few months later, I came across instructions online to create fabric covered buttons....so I will never pay $3 for a button again!

First, pull out your stash of fabric scraps. It doesn't take a lot of fabric, so there is probably something in the fabric stash that will be useful. I decided to use the greenish-colored fabric (seafoam) because I had no buttons that matched the fabric.

Measure the distance from the edge of the button to the middle of the button. You want the fabric to be able to reach the middle so you can completely cover the button.

I traced a circle on the fabric around the button, making sure that there was at least 1/2 inch extra all around.

Then, I cut the fabric. My measurements were pretty close, but it wasn't necessary to be exact.

Taking a needle and thread, I used a running stitch (I think that's what it's called) and stitched along the perimeter of the fabric circle.

After placing the button in the middle of the fabric circle, pull the thread taut so the fabric gathers around the button and covers it completely.

You can even trim a bit of the fabric around the outside of the stitches to reduce the amount of bulk behind the button. You don't want too much fabric because you want the button to lay as flat as possible when you use it.

Continue to stitch up the fabric until it is taut around the button. Knot off the thread, and you are done! A beautiful button for whatever project you are working on!

Until next time....happy crafting!

Nordea nordeasoaperie

Quick & Easy DIY Fabric Coasters

Now that I have a new obsession in sewing, I am starting to find all sorts of fun projects to work on. I happen to have a weakness for coasters. I have them all over my apartment, and I always have some on my table at craft fairs (so that customers can put down their drinks and pick up my soap!) So, here is a quick and easy tutorial that anyone can do:

First, I cut out four squares of fabric for the top portion (an old pair of jeans!) and another four squares in a coordinating fabric (the same size) for the bottom portion.

Then I cut out four squares of batting slightly smaller for the padding.

Then I cut four strips of colorful ribbon that would fit across the front of the top square. I glue it on to keep it in place before sewing.

Using my trusty machine, I sew the colorful ribbon strip onto the front of each top square.

Then, I glue the batting onto the back of each bottom square.

I place the top and bottom squares (right sides facing each other) together and pin them in place before sewing them up. You want the right sides to face each other because you need to leave a 1.5" section open so you can turn the completed square inside out. If you look closely, you can see where I marked my opening in blue marker near the top of the square.

After you turn the square inside out, the right sides should be facing out, and you simply need to hand stitch the small opening to finish it up.

So there you have it....easy peasy fabric coasters! Great for a quick housewarming gift, or if you are heading to a friend's house for dinner...I always like to show up with a little gift of appreciation!

Until next time....happy crafting!

Nordea / nordeasoaperie

Tutorial: Making a simple Cafe Curtain

 This is an easy project for anyone with basic sewing skills. Also it's a great way to add a little change to your room.

What is a cafe curtain?  Basically it is a panel and it is super easy!  It can be a full panel covering the total window or a half panel, covering the lower half of the window. Just imagine a cafe in Paris and sitting at a table you can peer over the curtain to watch outside or put your head down and read a book without everyone watching you.  A single panel is good for small windows. You can push it open by sliding it slightly or using a complementary tieback.

We have a door in our bedroom that goes out to the back yard. The door has a small window so we didn't want anything fancy for covering it up. We also wanted it to match the shade we got for our windows, a warm latte color.  A cafe curtain was the perfect solution.

Materials:

1. Enough fabric for the window length and width, see how to add allowance below.

2. Type of fabric: I prefer quilting weight fabrics, 100% cotton

3. Needle size: 9 or 11

4. Thread: cotton or cotton poly

Instructions:

1. Measure your window and add 2" to the height and width

2.  Fold over 3/8" seam allowance on all 4 sides, steam.

the tool in this picture is called a sewing gauge, they are great for measuring seam allowances

3. On the bottom and sides fold in another 3/8", steam and sew an edge stitch on the inside fold.

4. Be sure to steam after sewing!

5. For the top loop I over locked my raw edge since I have a serger. But don't worry, if you don't have a serger just fold over once and steam as in step 2.

At the corners fold in a diagonal then pin down and steam. Normally I don't put pins like this, but the seam allowance is so tiny I do in this case.

6.  Fold over 2", pin and steam

7. I find it helpful to pin the end openings so they don't shift when you are sewing the edge stitch on the fold. See below.

8. Finished! And iron with steam! And hang!

the fabric I used is 100% cotton called Quilter's Linen, it has a linen look, purchased at Purl Soho. Since this is a door with no window frame, my husband found curtain rods that are magnetic at Home Depot! I believe Target also carries them.

Enjoy!

Tracey Toole

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Egghead Learns to Sew, Part V

Hooray! Today it all comes together and I sew a couple of pieces of fabric together!

I gleaned from the Instruction Manual how to do this based on its coverage of the topic  "Changing Sewing Directions," rather than by following specific steps because this was the topic that immediately followed "Drawing Up the Bobbin Thread."
Doing so turns out to have been a good thing, as the section that I would have expected to follow "Drawing Up the Bobbin Thread," namely, "To Start Sewing," which I eventually found a few sections  later, was inadequate and even nonsensical: When I later followed those instructions, the thread got all tangly and/or the machine simply did not respond. I found Step 2. to be particularly confounding.

In any case, I hope that the steps to start sewing that I gleaned from the "Changing Sewing Directions" aren't bad for the machine or otherwise ill-advised. (Please do tell me if they are!)

To Start Sewing

This is obvious, but since I haven't used them in awhile, it might be worth noting that before starting to sew I attached the foot control the sewing machine and then plugged it into a power source.

After threading the upper thread, drawing up the bobbin thread and pulling both threads toward the back of the machine, I positioned the fabric that I wanted to sew under the needle, which was raised to its highest position.

Turning the hand wheel clutch slowly toward me, I lowered the needle into the fabric. Then I lowered the presser foot.

I pressed down on the foot control and woohoo! I was sewing!

When I got nearly to the edge of the fabric I stopped. With the needle in the fabric, I lifted the presser foot and pivoted the fabric around the needle to sew down the next side of the fabric.

I had the idea that I'd make a pincushion or tiny pillow of some sort as my first sewing project so I left the last side of the fabric open (the remaining side of the fabric was folded over). Thus, when I got to the edge of the second side of the fabric I was sewing, I stopped and followed the directions in the Instruction Manual for finishing a seam.

Specifically, pushing down on the reverse lever, I sewed backwards for about two inches. Then, turning the hand wheel clutch slowly toward me, I raised the needle to its highest position, lifted the presser foot, and pulled the fabric out toward the rear of the machine. As instructed, I cut the threads using the thread cutter on the back of what I think is the needle bar, but this was awkward so next time I'll just use scissors.

Next, I have to learn about different kinds of fabric and thread, and corresponding settings on my machine.

Until then --

Linda
Purty Bird

Egghead Learns to Sew, Part 4

Today is a big day! I get to the very cusp of sewing by adding the bobbin thread to the upper thread that I threaded last time. According to the Instruction Manual, this entails four steps: removing the bobbin case and bobbin from the compartment below the needle plate, inserting the bobbin into the bobbin case, inserting the bobbin case into the shuttle race, and drawing up the bobbin thread. Whoooeeee!
The first three steps really comprise one big operation, so I cover them together, followed by the fourth step.

Removing the Bobbin Case and Bobbin, Inserting the Bobbin into the Bobbin Case, and Inserting the Bobbin Case into the Shuttle Race

One thing to note: the Instruction Manual sometimes calls the sewing machine parts relevant to a given operation by names other than the one it originally used to identify them. For instance, regarding the set of operations I'm covering here, the originally identified "bobbin door" is called the "shuttle race cover." I'm going to keep to the original names for clarity's sake but note where the Instruction Manual diverges, just so you're aware of the alternatives.

As mentioned earlier, the action in this operation occurs in the compartment below the needle plate, behind the bobbin door. It's where the bobbin lives, in a case, inside a part of the machine called the shuttle race.

The first step of the present operation is to remove the bobbin case from the shuttle race.  (Before you start make sure the needle is at its highest position.) Open the bobbin door. Find the little latch on the front of the bobbin case and pull it to release the bobbin case from the shuttle race.

Next, insert the bobbin into the bobbin case, leaving a tail of thread about about 3-3.5 inches long outside it.

Pull the end of the thread through the little notch on the inside rim of the bobbin case and  out an oval-ish opening on the side of the bobbin case, called the tension spring.

Holding the bobbin and bobbin case together, pull the latch on the front of the bobbin case again and set the bobbin case inside the shuttle race. A handy tip: The bobbin case and shuttle race are like pieces of a puzzle; they have corresponding, inverse parts. Specifically, the bobbin case has an arm attached to the front of it that fits into a notch at the top of the shuttle race. Line up the arm and the notch and place the bobbin case onto the center pin of the shuttle race. Release the latch. The completed puzzle looks like this:

You're done! Close the bobbin door!

Drawing Up the Bobbin Thread

(This step requires that you've already threaded the upper thread. Please see my previous post for instructions if you haven't. Thanks!)

It's all starting to come together! Hold the upper thread (here, in dark blue) to the left side of the needle loosely with your left hand. Turn the hand wheel slowly toward you until the needles goes down and comes up. The bobbin thread (here, in red) will be brought up looped around the upper thread.

Pull the bobbin thread out with your fingers and together with the upper thread, under the presser foot to the rear of the machine.

Add electricity and fabric, and.... Stay tuned!

Until next time --

Linda
Purty Bird

Tutorial: How to sew a button

This past week I had a customer who was desperate to have a button sewn back onto her beautiful french cashmere sweater. She was mega desperate.  She had taken the sweater to 2 cleaners/tailors and they did a hack job on it. The woman was leaving for LA the following day and desperately wanted to take her new sweater with her. Did I mention she was desperate? The button was a beautiful, decorative, slightly chunky rhinestone shank button. Lesson 1: There are two types of buttons, the regular button with holes in it and then a shank button like the kind on a pair of jeans.  
 I was hesitant to take the job because she wanted to wait while I fixed it on my lunch break. The sweater being cashmere was very delicate and already numerous holes were poked thru. 

I teach sewing at a few places in the city and I find that many people just want to learn how to sew a button on and hem a pair of pants. So I thought I would share the knowledge and give you a tutorial on sewing a button.

1. If you are in a crunch use any kind of cotton or poly thread. But if you have the time you should buy proper quality thread. I like Gueterman brand.  Other quality brands are Coats and Clark and Mettler.  The rhinestone button that I sewed on for this customer was being sewn onto a cashmere sweater, very fragile fibers, so I used a wool/nylon strictly utilitarian thread from Sajou called Laine St Pierre found at Purl Soho.

Step 1 - Double strand your needle. Cut the thread to be no more than 18". Knot the end. Start the threading from underneath the button thru the fabric. 

Step 2 - Insert thread into a hole next to it, not diagnonal. Then slip another needle or a toothpick under the thread to form some extra space between the thread and button. You don't want the thread to be super tight next to the button because this can cause it to break.

                                                    

Step 3- Stitch thru the other holes three or four times.

Step 4 - FInishing off - wrap the thread under the button and around the stitches you just formed. You are building a little shank that the button sits on. Remove the toothpick.

Step 5 -  Wrap around about three times. Now it's time to make a knot twice or back stitch. Back stitch on hand stitching is going thru the same stitch a few times, then make a knot in your thread. 

All done! Never pay someone to sew a button on for you again! 

Please feel free to post any questions.

Thanks and Happy Monday!

Tracey

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